Creative services has been a focal point of expansion for document outsourcing providers in recent years, with Williams Lea making the most significant play in 2011. That July, Williams Lea acquired marketing execution and production agency Tag, which delivers marketing communications through a process called “smart centralization”Â designed to help brands maintain marketing consistency across markets and media. Tag recently relaunched with a full brand refresh, new logo, website redesign, and the integration of the Williams Lea Marketing Solutions team. In addition to these changes, John Paulson has been promoted from CEO for the Americas region to Global CEO of Tag. Peter Zillig and Todd Handcock will work closely with Paulson and continue in their roles as Tag CEO for EMEA and Asia Pacific, respectively, with full operational responsibility for the business and its clients across their regions.

Ahead of the announcement, I had an opportunity to catch up with Paulson.Â

InfoTrends recently published our 2013 U.S. Photo Merchandise End-User Survey , which we conduct every year to get a pulse on what’s happening in the consumer market. We ask specifically about photo books, cards, calendars and specialty photo prints, which includes poster and collage prints as well as canvas and photo panels. In the survey, we found that photo merchandise is continuing to penetrate more of the mass market. When all survey respondents were asked if they had bought any of these items in the last year, 40% answered “yes,” which was up from 37% in 2012 and 25% in 2009.

We also asked the entire survey population (including buyers and non-buyers) if they plan to buy any of these photo merchandise items in the next year. As shown in the chart below, photo cards have the highest percentage of people most likely to buy, with almost 40% saying they’ll either “definitely” or “probably” buy. This is no surprise given the continuing popularity of sending out photo cards for the Holidays.

Panasonic announced on July 8th, the release of its KV-SS1100 network scanning solution. The KV-SS1100 is a standalone device that integrates with Panasonic’s portfolio of standalone documentÂ scanner devicesÂ to thenÂ convert into a network-enabled capture device, no matter what the speed of scanner chosen.

The SV1100 features a 7” LCD touchscreen with a 1024×600 resolution and a scratch-protection sheet, and a hardware button for quick scanning.

Panasonic claims that the SS1100 will eliminate the need for laborious tasks like manual scanning and data entry by providing the wired or wireless network connection businesses need to keep their documents flowing. With the KV-SS1100, files are sorted, edited, auto scanned and filed to various folders based on customizable presets.

Hardware devices with the ability to “upgrade” without the need to replace the entire device are very attractive for company’s not interested in making new investments. There is tremendous benefit and value to fitting a large LCD touch panel into an existing hardware footprint, it can allow for shortcut buttons for common tasks and predefined workflows suited for a variety of vertical markets and processes that are heavily paper intensive.

Vertical markets such as Healthcare have many key process and paper ingestion areas that are vital to handling hardcopy items such as patient records. Speed and accuracy of entering patient data, along with regulation and compliance in healthcare are high priority according to the InfoTrends Business Process Automation Study, specifically HIPAA requires that patient data remain private and confidential. The practice of scanning and capturing documents and content, at point of origination, is looking to meet these requirements. And the added bonus of having an adjunct device that can aid in the capture of data by creating a workflow friendly integration is vital in any business process.

Pricing and Availability
The KV-SS1100 network scanning solution is available immediately at $1,549 MSRP through authorized Panasonic resellers starting and comes with a One-Year Warranty.

As InfoTrends continues to track the evolving document management market, we like to see how providers are expanding their services. Last week, I toured New England Document Systems in Manchester, NH to gain a better understanding of how smaller providers are remaining competitive in the document management solutions market.

Founded in 1983, New England Document Systems (NEdocs) has evolved from a microfilm services business to one that provides document imaging systems and solutions to medium and large operations. NEdocs also offers outsourced scanning, cloud storage, workflow and document automation systems, off-site records storage, accounts payable automation, and mailroom services. Clients consist of many Fortune 500 clients including Read more »

The next wave of disruption in the capture market will come from wearable devices. The wearable camera market falls within the wearable technology market, which consists of a wide range of products that are designed to be worn, to be always switched on and to monitor in some way the person wearing the technology and their environment. The fitness market has been the trailblazer in the wearable tech market with products like Fitbit and Jawbone. Players in the wearable camera market include established players, such as GoPro and emerging players such as Google, Memoto, and Vuzix.

So you think your camera phone takes “good” pictures? Last week Nokia introduced a new smartphone that plans to change our definition of “good” mobile photos. The handset manufacturer from Finland introduced the Lumia 1020 on July 11th in New York City, a Windows smartphone that features a 41 megapixel camera with advanced photo features.

As paper volumes drop because of electronic substitution, and paper mills cut capacity to sync with demand, paper will become a rare commodity. And rare commodities are worth a lot of money.

I would start hoarding paper now instead of gold and silver. Some day, we will have new denominations based on sheets, reams, cases, and of course, rolls of paper. It may not be uncommon to hear “Can I Read more »

While researching and writing the analysis piece, Production Color Digital Print Capabilities Beyond Four Color, I had the chance to sit in on a webinar sponsored by Mcardle Solutions about how designers can apply special effects using the capabilities of Mcardle Solution’s HP Indigo 7600. For participating in the webinar, I received a calendar produced by Mcardle Solutions that features some of these special effects, this video blog showcases some of my favorites.

For more information on beyond four color special effects we encourage you to visit these links:

Today, Ricoh announced that is has made a strategic investment in Avanti Systems, a leader in Print MIS for Commercial Printers and In-plants. According to Yasuhiko Hosoe, associate director and deputy general manager, Ricoh Production Printing Business Group, “The investment also speaks to our “imagine.change.” initiative — by enabling commercial and in-plant printers to streamline their businesses and seek efficiencies to lower costs, and improve their bottom line.” The deal reflects the demand for software solutions that help print service providers optimize their production capabilities through transparency and a need for digital equipment vendors to strengthen their relationship with these solutions. Read more »